Strange But True: Vatican Beefcake Calendar

Starting all the way back in 2004, the Vatican began releasing calenders featuring 12 of its hunkiest clergy. Now in its 10th year, the featured holy-men can be viewed at this link. Sorry to those hoping for something risqué: they are all dressed in cassock.

Now in its 10th edition, the annual wall calendar best known for its black-and-white photos of attractive priests continues to spark grumbles of controversy in Italy.

Officially, it’s called “Il Calendario Romano” — The Roman Calendar — but it is popularly referred to as the “Roman beefcake calendar.”

According to Piero Pazzi, the Venice-based photographer who takes the photos and produces the calendar each year, almost all of the men he photographs — many of them in front of churches or religious monuments — are priests or seminarians. But the religious connotations end there.

According to Italian media reports, the calendar has become a kind of icon for groups ranging from female Protestant clergy to gay men. Some critics claim it projects an inappropriate image for the clergy.

Called by its website “the most typical souvenir from Rome,” it can be had for the reasonable price of 10 Euro plus shipping. Order your Gregorian homage to the high price paid for celibacy, today!